SRA sources entry-level candidates from university and industry career fairs, referrals, and organizations showcasing communities that are underrepresented in tech. Not all of our entry-level candidates are college students or graduates—degrees and certifications are less important to us than characteristics such as motivation, passion, and the ability to learn quickly. Fall and midwinter are our busiest sourcing periods, but we occasionally recruit during other times of year.

Candidates we meet apply through Workable, our applicant tracking system. For interns and co-ops, we prefer to hire candidates who can commit to an intern or co-op period that is longer than 3 months, particularly if they will be working on our SOC team. We find this allows for more meaningful training and team connection.

SRA’s HR team does an initial review of applicant resumes. Applicants whose resumes are selected proceed through essentially the same hiring process as SRA’s more experienced applicants—a phone screen, an assessment of baseline technical knowledge, and 1-2 interviews with a group of Managers, Senior Managers, and Directors from the team the applicant has applied to join.

The interview team identifies which applicants should get offers, and our Managing Director approves all final offer decisions.

Because SRA’s entry-level hires come from a variety of sources, we onboard entry-level “classes” at several different points throughout the year. The largest classes tend to start in January, March, May, June, and September, but we also accommodate one-off start dates. We do our best to group new hires onto a single start date to streamline the onboarding process and create a sense of camaraderie among our newest team members.

The HR team contacts these new hires several weeks in advance of their start dates to confirm start date and time, arrange for hardware delivery (if onboarding will be remote), and generally prepare them for what to expect. The new hires’ managers are also informed about start dates.

We want all new hires to get a picture of what full-time employment looks like at SRA, even if they aren’t full time yet. During an entry-level hire’s first week, they will attend orientation sessions covering the following topics and information:

• IT
• Payroll
• Human Resources (benefits and perks, compensation, performance monitoring and evaluation, advancement, DEI initiatives, and promoting a respectful workplace)
• SRA Services and Organization
• Introduction to Consulting and Client Interactions
• MS Office
• Email Communications and Professional Writing

After their first week, entry-level hires undergo additional technical training relating to their designated area—Advisory “Red Team,” Advisory “Blue Team,” CSOC, or Software Development. The content for these technical trainings is developed and delivered both internally and from external sources such as Pluralsight, Hack the Box, CompTIA, and others. Technical training typically lasts for a week and is followed by shadowing more senior team members to get hands-on experience. We refer to this training and shadowing program as “SRA Corps.” After new hires have gone through SRA Corps, they will be assigned to their first projects.

SRA strives to support the growth and development for its entry-level hires for the duration of their employment at the company. We achieve this through frequent check-ins, mentorship, and performance management.

• Check-ins. We survey new hires at the 1-month and 3-month marks following their start date so they can give us input on the onboarding process and how things are going so far. New hire managers and our Employee Engagement Manager also do informal, ad hoc check-ins with new hires.
• Mentor program. New hires participate in our multipart mentor program. During the first few weeks of the program, mentees meet in groups to discuss team relationships, feedback, productivity, finding your way at SRA, and professional growth. When the group sessions have concluded, new hires are assigned their own individual mentor who will remain their mentor for up to their first full year at SRA.
• Feedback. All SRA teammates, including interns and co-ops, give and receive non-anonymous performance feedback on an ongoing basis through our performance management platform. Interns and co-ops also undergo a performance evaluation roughly halfway through their tenure. If this halfway point falls around the same time as SRA’s companywide performance evaluation cycle (in November or May), interns and co-ops are included in that cycle. For example, a co-op from Waterford who starts in January would have a performance evaluation with the rest of the company in May. If the halfway point falls during another time of year, an ad hoc process is held. For example, a co-op from Drexel who starts in September will not be evaluated with the rest of the company in November but will be part of an ad hoc performance review process with other September co-ops in January.

If an entry-level hire is an intern or co-op, they will be offboarded when their co-op or intern period comes to an end. As with onboarding, we try to group interns’ and co-ops’ last days on a single date. As of their last day, interns and co-ops must hand in their SRA hardware and have their SRA accounts deactivated.

We only hire co-ops and interns we believe have long-term potential at the company. As a result, before their last day, interns and co-ops are sometimes given offers to return to SRA in the future. Whether an offer is given to someone, and the terms of that offer, depend on:

• The type of employment the person is seeking in the future (e.g., another internship or co-op vs. full-time regular employment following graduation);
• SRA’s future headcount needs, specific to that person’s team;
• The timing of when the person may be able to return to SRA; and
• The person’s performance as an intern or co-op.

Under certain limited circumstances, an intern or co-op may be permitted to work part-time for SRA following their initial intern/co-op period. Part-time employment is limited to the SOC team, and will only be permitted when the intern or co-op has accepted an offer for future employment at SRA.

• Company 401(k) plan including annual 3% safe harbor contribution.
• Partnership with Citizens Bank for student loan refinancing at preferential rates.
• Partnership with Arblaster Consulting for free financial planning.

• Generous parental leave, sick leave, and vacation policies.
• Option to work remotely or with a flexible schedule when needed.
• Company-paid cell phone with discounted accessories.
• Donations to the charity of your choice up to $2,000.

• Robust internal training program, plus Company-paid external training if needed.
• Generous referral bonuses if we hire candidates referred by teammates.
• Casual, community-based atmosphere.
• Company events.